Police Release Chinese Author after Online Storm

Police have released a high school teacher and author after an online novel he wrote was deemed pornographic. From Reuters:

Chinese language teacher Yuan Lei, 29, published “In Dongguan” on the popular portal tianya.com between August 2009 and February of this year, Xinhua news agency said late Thursday. The novel was about prostitution in bathhouses in Dongguan.

The booming manufacturing hub in Guangdong province, close to Hong Kong, has long had a reputation for its racy nightlife and anything-goes attitude.

The novel attracted two million hits, but incensed the authorities.

“Dongguan police concluded the novel is pornographic. The judgment was recognized by the provincial public security department,” Xinhua quoted an unnamed police official as saying.

“But we faced great pressure from the media, especially the Internet,” the policeman added.